This hands-on course provides a comprehensive introduction to programming, and builds a solid foundation of programming skills that can be used to master additional programming languages like C, C++, or Java™. In this course you will write, compile, and debug programs in Java.

Objectives

Explain what computer programs are and what computer programming is about.

Write and compile simple computer programs.

Describe basic computer language data types.

Interact with computer programs using your terminal screen and keyboard.

Evaluate expressions used in computer programs.

Design the sequential execution, and flow of decision making, in a program.

Write programs that use loops to perform repetitive tasks.

Design and write procedural programs that use methods.

Use basic debugging techniques to solve programming problems and increase program quality.

Use arrays and classes for managing program data.

Write programs that use files to store and retrieve data.

Detailed Outline

1. Course Introduction
   • Course Objectives
   • Course Overview
   • Suggested References
2. Basic Concepts and Definitions
   • What is a Program?
   • “Hello, world!”
   • The Programming Process
   • Program Files and Program Execution
   • System Programs vs. Application Programs
   • Input – Process – Output
   • Programming Languages
   • Compiler Errors vs. Runtime Errors
   • Development Environments
3. Writing Simple Programs
   • Reading Input
   • Performing Numeric Calculations
   • Formatting Output
   • Decision Making
   • Iteration
   • Commenting Your Source Code
   • Good Programming Style
4. Data Types, Constants, and Variables
   • A Program’s Purpose is to Process Data
   • Computer Memory
   • Data Can Be of Different Types
   • Named Data: Variables
   • Literal Data
   • Assignment
   • Printing Variables
5. Screen Output and Keyboard Input
   • Writing to the Screen
   • Characters That Have Special Meaning
   • Some Simple Formatting
   • Reading from the Keyboard
   • Prompting and Validating
6. Expressions
   • Expressions: Where the Work Gets Done
   • Expression Evaluation: The Result
   • Arithmetic Expressions
   • Relational Expressions
   • Where are Relational Expressions Used?
   • And? . . . Or?
   • Precedence and Associativity
7. Decision Making
   • Sequential Execution
   • What is Decision Making?
   • Simple Decisions: if
   • Two-Way Decisions: else
   • Code Blocks
   • Nesting Control Statements
   • Multi-Way Decisions: switch
8. Looping
   • Kinds of Loops
   • Iterative Loops
   • Code Blocks and Loops
   • Nested Loops
   • Conditional Loops
   • Infinite Loops
9. Methods
   • Programming without Methods
   • Reusable Code in a Method
   • The Starting Point
   • Variable Visibility: Scope
   • Parameters
   • Returning a Value
   • Method Stubs
   • Libraries
10. Debugging
    • What is Debugging?
    • Commenting Out Code
    • Simple Debugging with Print Statements
    • Making Debugging Print Statements Conditional
    • Programs that Help You Debug Programs
11. Data Collections – Arrays
    • Scalar Data vs. Data Collections
    • What is an Array?
    • Accessing Array Elements
    • Multidimensional Arrays
    • Array Initialization
12. Data Collections – Classes
    • What is a Class?
    • Object vs. Class
    • Accessing Object Members
    • Using Arrays with Classes
13. Working with Files
    • Terminal I/O and File I/O
    • Opening Files
    • Opening a File for Writing
    • Opening a File for Reading
    • Checking for File Open Errors
    • Closing a File
    • Text Files vs. Binary Files